Ron and Hermione in Double Indemnity
by Eloise McGonagall
Summary: Hermione married to Draco? Not for long if Ron can help it! Together, R&H hatch a plan to murder Malfoy, and make 1,000,000 galleons in the process. But will all go as planned? This is my first fan fic so please R&R!
1. Ron Weasley, Insurance Salesman

Ron Weasley and the Case of Double Indemnity  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the brilliant characters created by J.K. Rowling. I must admit that I do steal quite a few lines from the Billy Wilder's 1944 flick Double Indemnity from which this story was inspired. These characters just work so well with the story!  
  
Characters:  
  
Draco Malfoy: Rich husband to Hermione. Owns Racing Broomstick Co. called Draco's Darts.  
Hermione Malfoy (Granger): Malfoy's wife. Former Charms Professor at Hogwarts.   
Mopsy: The Malfoy's female house-elf—daughter to Dobby.   
Miranda Malfoy: Draco's 15 year old daughter by his first wife, Pansy Parkinson (died 4 years ago).   
Jack Chang: Cho Chang's nephew and Miranda Malfoy's moody, temperamental boyfriend.   
Ron Weasley: Depressed wizard insurance salesman for Wizard Insurance Company Commonly Accepted. (WICCA)   
Parvati Patil: Ron's boss at WICCA who has a knack for divination.  
Neville Longbottom: Insurance claims adjuster who wants to save a buck.  
Harry Potter: Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic  
  
Time and Setting: London, year 2015—18 years after the gang graduates from Hogwarts.

And now for **chapter one: Ron Weasley, WICCA Insurance**  
  
"Morning Parvati," Ron walked into the WICCA office sleepy-eyed and...late.  
  
"Ron! This is the third time you've been late in the past two weeks! You really need to be more dependable otherwise I'll have to find someone to replace you." Parvati Patil was the head of WICCA and she was very strict about her employees being punctual. Parvati was the perfect witch to lead WICCA because of her keen sense in divination. Although she was unable to predict future occurrences, she was able to discern insurance claims that may be fraudulent and she was always sure to investigate them to the fullest. This was not the first time Parvati threatened to fire Ron for his tardiness, but she really didn't intend to ever fire him since they were such good friends, however, she did need to remind him to keep on track.  
  
"I'm sorry Parvati! I haven't been sleeping well and on top of that I've had to take the underground lately since they suspended my apparation license. It's really hard to get somewhere when you have to travel like a muggle!"  
  
"Well perhaps you'll think twice before apparating after six or seven butterbeers. I mean honestly, you don't know where you'll end up or what parts of your body will be left behind! You really need to pull yourself together! You've got a great job, and we're all friends here! You should cheer up. I've got some extra work for you today...out of the office for that matter so you can get a bit of extra fresh air. Colin Creevy is out again today. Something about a hair re-growth potion sprouting little clovers on his head instead of hair. You know he was never all that great in potions."  
  
"Wait a minute, so I have to do his work today too?" Ron scrunched his nose up and pursed his lips together.  
  
"Well actually, it's just one house call—for one of our more valued customers. He really does give us quite a bit of business and his broom insurance policy expired a fortnight ago. We've sent him owls and everything asking him to renew but we haven't heard anything. Colin was going to go down and see him today to see if we can't get his insurance renewed. We can only cover them 30 days at maximum once the policy expires. But just promise me Ron, that you will be cordial when you go to see our client. It is imperative that we do not lose his business." Parvati seemed to sidestep exactly whom she was talking about.  
  
"What do you mean, 'be cordial'? Who do you think I am? Some ugly git who insults everyone like Draco Malfoy?" Ron was always polite to his customers and couldn't believe Parvati would admonish him to 'be cordial.'  
  
"No, you're not Ron, but you are right about Malfoy, and that's why I ask that you maintain the utmost professional behavior when you visit him today," she handed him a folder filled with forms for Malfoy to sign.  
  
"But Parvati—you know I couldn't go over there. What if—well, you know, what if I see Hermione?"  
  
Ron struggled with the thought of going to the Malfoy residence. Hermione was Ron's girlfriend at Hogwarts during their sixth and seventh years, but suddenly, at the end of their seventh year Hermione broke it off with Ron because she wanted to take over for Professor Flitwick, the charms professor, since he was retiring. Hermione felt that having a boyfriend was not compatible with being a Hogwarts Professor. Ron was so heartbroken that he failed 4 out of 5 NEWTs and so he couldn't continue on with Harry as an Auror. Instead, Parvati Patil, who took over for her father's insurance company business, gave a job to Ron and he had been working for her ever since. Hermione, on the other hand, had not lasted that long as Charms Professor at Hogwarts. Just four years ago, when Draco and Pansy Malfoy's daughter Miranda started at Hogwarts, Pansy died mysteriously while visiting her daughter for a quidditch tournament. The Malfoy family was devastated at the loss and Draco had somehow managed to turn to Hermione for support. The next year, Hermione quit her position as charms teacher and married Malfoy. Since hearing the news of Hermione's marriage, Ron became more depressed each day. At least when she was charms teacher, Ron knew she was doing something she loved and he also found comfort in knowing she was still single.  
  
"Look Ron, I'm doing this as a favor to you. You'll get the 20 percent commission on the deal and I know you need it. Your sales just haven't been as strong lately."  
  
"I know, but it's just too hard for me to see her."  
  
"Thirty percent commission, then. Mr. Malfoy has many accounts with us and he is a very valuable client. I really need you to come through on this."  
  
"All right then," Ron grumbled, "but you'll be buying me a butterbeer come lunch time if I see her." Ron left the office with his head hung low. He headed towards the underground where only five stops later, he'd be walking up the steps to the Malfoy estate.


	2. Lapse in Coverage

Chapter 2: Lapse in Coverage  
  
Ron jammed his hat on his head as he exited the underground. Sixty-five Wickfordshire Court was the address. The white mansion was four stories tall and plaster pillars framed the doorway at the top of what seemed like one hundred stairs. Ron reached for the doorknocker shaped like a dragon and knocked with three solid raps. A moment later, the door swung open, but Ron couldn't see who had opened it. Then he looked down to see that a house-elf had opened the door.  
  
"Who are you?" the house-elf squeaked, sounding half-irritated, half- curious.  
  
"I'm Mr. Ron Weasley from WICCA insurance, I'd like to speak with Mr. Malfoy. Its about..."  
  
"Hold it right there! The Malfoy's aren't going to buy anything from a door- to-door salesman! You are wasting your time, now go away!" the house elf started to shut the door but Ron stepped inside the house. The foyer was covered with marble flooring and a sweeping staircase lined with purple velvet carpet led to a balcony on the second floor. Ron was taken away by the extravagance of the entryway when suddenly he remembered what he was doing there.  
  
"Now listen here, I am not trying to sell Mr. Malfoy anything that he doesn't need. In fact he is already a client. I just need him to sign some papers to renew his insurance policy."  
  
The house-elf looked at Ron now with definite irritation, "Well Mr. Malfoy isn't here right now, so Mr. Weasley will just have to come back later."  
  
"Do you know when he will be home then?" Ron didn't want to have to come back to this place again.  
  
"No Mr. Malfoy told Mopsy not to let any one come to the house while Mr. Malfoy is gone. Mopsy always does what Mr. Malfoys says!" she was now raising her voice and causing quite a racket to get Ron out of the house.  
  
Then a voice came from the top of the stairs—"Mopsy, what's all that racket down there? Is everything all righ—?" Hermione emerged from the shadows at the top of the stairs. She was only wearing a towel and she stopped mid sentence when she saw Ron standing there at the bottom of the stairs with his hat clutched in his hand.  
  
"Ronald?" she said quietly. "What brings you to Wickfordshire? Is everything all right? Oh dear me, I'm sorry I'm not dressed properly, but I've been out sunbathing."  
  
Ron remembered his talk with Parvati about professionalism and cleared his throat, "Oh yes, I am just here because Mr. Malfoy had a broom insurance policy with the WICCA insurance agency and it looks like it expired a fortnight ago. I was just coming by to see if he would like to renew."  
  
"Broomstick insurance?" Hermione looked intrigued as she held her towel closer to her body.  
  
"Yes, well you know, in case the broom is stolen or someone gets injured while riding it, you'll be covered. There have been some pretty nasty broomstick accidents around London lately and I, I, well I just couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I left the house knowing you didn't have the proper coverage..." Ron trailed off, a little embarrassed to be talking to Hermione for the first time in over 4 years while she was wearing only a towel.  
  
"You're absolutely right Ronald, I must be sure we are properly covered...Mopsy, show Mr. Weasley to the drawing room. I'll be just a minute Ronald, while I put something on."  
  
Ron placed his hat on a chair in the foyer as Mopsy led him to the drawing room.  
  
"Wait here." Mopsy seemed subdued now that Hermione had told her what to do.  
  
In the drawing room was a small bar with glasses and a pitcher of fresh pumpkin juice. Behind the bar was a floor to ceiling bookcase filled with spellbooks, muggle books, and old textbooks Ron recognized from Hogwarts. Next to the window on the opposite side of the room was a grand piano that looked as if it hadn't been played in many years. On top of the piano were two picture frames that Ron edged closer to so he could see who was in the picture. On the right was a picture of Malfoy smirking and nodding his head looking haughty as ever. Ron didn't want to admit it but Malfoy had grown into a very handsome man. Next to Malfoy's picture was a photo of Miranda Malfoy wearing her quidditch robes. She was waving and tossing her long blond hair with a girlish twist of her head. Ron had heard a little about Miranda from his nieces and nephews who went to Hogwarts as well. Surprisingly, Miranda was not a Slytherin, but a Ravenclaw and the best keeper that house had ever seen. Ron continued to look around the room nervously when Hermione came gliding in.  
  
"Well then, I didn't take long at all did I?" Hermione was still buttoning up her blouse as she entered and walked over to Ron. "Won't you have a seat Ronald, it is indeed so good to see you!"  
  
"Well Mrs. Malfoy," Ron cleared his throat again, as Hermione began pouring him a glass of pumpkin juice, "I really can't stay long, since I am working and all. Is your husband here?"  
  
Hermione handed him the glass of juice and smiled, "Now Ronald you know to call me Hermione, you're so silly sometimes. The truth is, Draco is hardly here now that his business has gone international. Draco's Darts—you've heard of it right? They just launched a store in Malaysia and that's where he is right now. I do worry about him when he goes on these long journeys."  
  
"Right then. I best be going then, I have a lot of work to do today." Ron was suddenly aware of how much he missed Hermione and her warm smile.  
  
"Come now Ron, have a seat for just a moment and at least finish your pumpkin juice."  
  
Ron sighed and decided to have a seat; he did want to linger for just a little while longer with Hermione.  
  
"This juice could use a little rum to spice it up a bit," Ron muttered quietly. He was thinking of how rum could relax his nerves a bit too.  
  
"Sorry, Ron, I'm all out," she obviously heard him.  
  
There was silence between them for a few moments when finally Hermione spoke up again.  
  
"Insurance you sell, hmm? Is it just broomstick insurance or do you sell other kinds?"  
  
"Oh yes I sell all kinds, home insurance, health insurance, wand insurance, accident insurance, broom insurance, you know all kinds." he was obviously trying to stay aloof.  
  
"Accident insurance? Like if someone were to get hurt they would get compensation?"  
  
"You should know that Hermione! You're the most clever witch I know!"  
  
"I was just thinking that perhaps Draco should take out a policy with your company. I just worry about him so much when he is out traveling the world. I never know what may happen to him. He's so stubborn though. I've asked him to do something before, but he seems to think he is invincible."  
  
"Well I'd be happy to talk it over with him when I come to see him again. By the way, when will he be back?" Ron was dumbfounded that Hermione had even married Malfoy, and now she cared about his safety?  
  
"He will be back on Monday. Can you be here at eight in the evening?"  
  
"Sure thing Hermione. It was very nice to see you again." Ron set down his glass and got up and walked out towards the foyer. Hermione followed him closely by his side.  
  
Before Ron could reach down and grab his hat, Hermione had grabbed his hand. She looked into Ron's eyes with a certain sadness in her face.  
  
"See you later Ronald." She let go of his hand and opened the door for him.  
  
Ron picked up his hat and placed it on his head. He didn't say anything as he left the house trembling with all the feelings he had for Hermione stirring up in his heart once again. But he'd be back on Monday, the only downside would be that Malfoy would be there. 


	3. Parvati's Premonition

Chapter 3: Parvati's Premonition  
  
As Ron traveled back to the WICCA office that morning on the underground, thoughts cluttered his head about his encounter with Hermione. Had she been flirting with him? "No way," Ron thought to himself, "she was being friendly, that's all." But he couldn't stop thinking about her. He closed his eyes and remembered her rosy cheeks, red from the sun, and her long brown hair that was kissed by a hint of blond, probably also from the sun. He was in agony.  
  
It had been four years since he had spoke with Hermione and seeing her again had been quite a shock. Even though the two had split after their last year at Hogwarts, Hermione still sent owls to Ron and they would see each other during the holidays when Ron went home to the Burrow. Hermione was best friends with Ginny and so that was Ron's sure-fire connection with her. But after she married Draco, Hermione seemed to drift away from the Weasley family completely.  
  
When Ron arrived at the WICCA office he had made up his mind—he couldn't return to the Malfoys' no matter how much commission he received for the deal. Seeing Hermione was just too painful, and seeing Draco would probably send Ron off the deep end. Without thinking, Ron swung Parvati's office door open, but someone was already in there with her.  
  
"Oh...erm...Sorry Parvati. I'll come back later." Ron began to shuffle out the door, but Parvati stopped him.  
  
"It's quite all right Ron, please come in and have a seat. I'd really like to have you here to listen to what I have to say to Mr. McDougal."  
  
Ron shrugged his shoulders and sat down. Parvati was always making lessons out of people who she suspected of bringing in fraudulent claims and taught her employees well on how to spot them.  
  
"So Mr. McDougal," Parvati continued, "what I am trying to tell you is that we cannot process your claim for your enchanted muggle truck which just burned up for no reason! Things like that just don't happen!"  
  
"But now I don't have a truck! How will I get my vegetables to the muggle markets in London?"  
  
"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to light the vehicle on fire." Parvati had her arms crossed now and looked at him impatiently.  
  
"What? What is this rubbish? I'll call the Ministry of Magic to have them help settle this matter."  
  
"I don't think that will be necessary. I had a certain feeling about this claim of yours, so I had my guys check the vehicle for any signs of foul play..."  
  
"And?" said Mr. McDougal half worried, half angered.  
  
"Seems they found some burnt up pieces of wood shavings on the floor of the vehicle."  
  
Mr. McDougal was silent.  
  
Parvati started up again, "Do you think I could please see your wand for a moment Mr. McDougal?"  
  
"Er, what for?" Mr. McDougal grunted.  
  
"Well I just need to do a little bit of checking to see if you are really telling me the truth."  
  
McDougal cautiously handed his wand over to Parvati. She snatched it up from his hand and recited a spell with her own wand touching the tip of his, "Priori Incantatem!"  
  
Mr. McDougal's eyes grew wide with anxiety as he saw his last spell come floating out of the tip of his wand. When the green smoky memory of his last spell came into full view, Ron had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. It was a muggle girl about 18 years old dressed in a bikini and her top kept popping off her chest. Mr. McDougal must have been down at the beach peeping at young girls and using magic to sneak an extra peek.  
  
"This guy's not all that bad Parvati. He's got quite a knack for using charms when they are most needed," Ron couldn't resist commenting. Parvati shot him a look that said, "I'm not finished yet."  
  
The next spell to come out of McDougal's wand was a door unlocking—the alohamora charm. "Boring," Ron thought and he figured he had probably just locked himself out of somewhere. But the next spell to come out of the wand was what Parvati had been counting on: a small, ghostly flame came shooting out of the wand and then exploded into a much larger looking fire.  
  
Parvati ended her spell and handed the wand back to her client.  
  
Mr. McDougal stood up and started defending himself, "Really Ms. Patil I went camping with some of my friends. We needed a fire to keep warm that's all..."  
  
Parvati wasn't listening to him though. Instead she was rummaging through her desk and finally pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it on her desk facing the now silent Mr. McDougal.  
  
"What's this?" Mr. McDougal was now sitting back down in his chair.  
  
"Oh just a waiver for you to sign...to drop your claim, of course. It insures that you remain an honest man," Parvati smiled at him and then glanced at Ron to flash a wink his way. Ron nodded back at her with a wry smile.  
  
Without another word, Mr. McDougal signed the form and quietly left the office.  
  
Parvati said goodbye to him just before the door closed behind him, "Have a great day Mr. McDougal! Thank you!"  
  
"That was brilliant Parvati, how do you do it?" Ron was impressed by Parvati's cool handling of an obviously shady customer.  
  
"Oh it's nothing really, I just have this little divination thing that happens when I go through the claims file." Parvati was actually quite humble about herself and didn't like to brag.  
  
"Divination? You're kidding right? I mean divination is about as helpful as Neville is when you're cooking up a potion!" Ron never believed in the power of divination. Rubbish was all it was to him.  
  
"Call it what you like Ron, but when I am going through those claim files I can just glance at most of them and know they are legitimate. Sometimes though I will get a few that just tie knots in my stomach the second I lay my hands on the parchment. Those are the ones that I investigate for fraud. And you've been around long enough to know that I've never been wrong when I get these hunches."  
  
"That's why you're the boss Ms. Patil," Ron was now just giving Parvati a hard time about believing in divination, "you're smashingly brilliant! "  
  
"Stop it Ron," Parvati brushed off his joke by rolling her eyes and then got serious again, "How did it go at the Malfoy's? Did Draco renew?"  
  
Ron's amusement over the incident with Mr. McDougal dissipated with the mention of Malfoy.  
  
"He wasn't there, out on business is what his house-elf said," Ron lied. He thought perhaps he would go back to the Malfoys' after all. He figured it wouldn't kill him to see Hermione one more time.  
  
"Will you still be up to the task when he returns? I mean, Hermione could be there the next time." Parvati did feel bad for sending Ron to the Malfoys'.  
  
"Oh its quite all right Parvati, I'll go. The house-elf told me to return Monday evening at eight o'clock. I do need this commission." He bowed to Parvati as he opened the door to let himself out. She tossed one of her quills at him playfully and Ron, smiling, quickly closed the door before it could hit him. 


	4. Hermione's Wish

Author's note: This story about double indemnity just wouldn't be fun unless I threw in some double entendre as well! So keep an eye out for it, I suspect my readers couldn't possibly be so thick that they couldn't spot a little sexual innuendo...  
  
Chapter 4: Hermione's Wish  
  
The next Monday evening, Ron found himself once again on the front porch of the Malfoy estate. At least this time he was able to drive a car that his father, the Minister of Magic, loaned to him until his apparation license could be restored. Minister Weasley loved the underground but didn't feel it was a safe place for a wizard to be traveling alone. Ron's heart was thumping in his chest and his hands were like the cold skin on a recently expired double blasted skrewt. He reached up to the dragon doorknocker to signal his arrival.  
  
The door opened almost immediately, and Ron expected to see Mopsy standing there behind it with her hand on her hip and a scowl on her face. Instead, it was Hermione with her hair done up in a twist with soft curls falling on her cheeks. She was wearing a long lilac summer dress without sleeves. Ron gulped.  
  
"Come in Ronald, I was worried you might not come," Hermione beckoned him into the house.  
  
"It's only 8:01, Hermione," Ron looked puzzled as he glanced down at his watch.  
  
"Let's go to the parlor, I've got rum for your pumpkin juice tonight!" Hermione grabbed a hold of Ron's arm and escorted him into the same room he had been to just the week before.  
  
Ron noticed it was too quiet in the house, and perhaps a little bit dimmer than it had been on his previous visit. Something felt strange.  
  
"Hermione?" Ron suddenly felt very uncomfortable, "Is Malfoy here?"  
  
"No," she was now mixing the pumpkin juice and rum and pouring it into glasses.  
  
"But you said—"  
  
"—He's in New Zealand right now—he won't be back for another couple days." Hermione smiled as she handed him his drink.  
  
"Actually, do you have any butterbeer instead? Rum's a bit fast for me, I've got a car tonight." Ron figured he probably needed the rum to calm his anxiety, but then again he didn't want to get emotional around Hermione either.  
  
"Yes of course, Ronald," she turned started walking back towards the foyer calling, "Mopsy! Oh Mopsy, could we get some butterbee—oh wait," Hermione turned back around to face Ron, "that's right, tonight is Mopsy's night off." She shrugged her shoulders innocently.  
  
Ron couldn't believe it—she'd set the whole thing up for them to be alone together! He tipped his glass of pumpkin juice and rum to his lips and almost downed the entire glass in one gulp.  
  
"I thought you said the rum worked too fast on you Ronald, aren't you worried about being pulled over by an officer tonight?" Hermione had now taken a seat on one end of a squishy couch in the drawing room.  
  
"Eh, I'm not too worried about the muggle officers, they couldn't spot a ministry car if it did a dance in front of them." Ron was still standing in the drawing room but he was now leaning on the bar where Hermione had mixed his drink.  
  
"Well if I were an officer and I saw you do anything wrong, I'd have no choice but to pull you over." Hermione had her legs crossed on the couch and was tossing her head haughtily at Ron.  
  
"I guess if I were breaking the law I'd have no choice but the get out and let you cuff me—"  
  
"—No doubt, I'd also have to take you into the station," Hermione now stood up and was walking towards Ron.  
  
Ron turned his head aside and coughed to clear his throat and when he looked back up Hermione was standing right in front of him with her face no further than a few inches away.  
  
"I'd have to lock you up Ronald—"  
  
"I suspect I could break out, although it could take a full hour to do if you had a hold of my wand—"  
  
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron and then grabbed his empty glass, "Another for you Ron?" She started pouring the drink before he could reply.  
  
"So Ronald, I've been thinking about this accident insurance that you sell, and well I am afraid Draco just won't go for it. After all he is very greedy and he thinks nothing bad would ever happen to him. He is so greedy that he won't be leaving a single dime to me after he passes away! All of this estate will go to that brat of his! He cares more for Miranda than he does his own wife!"  
  
"Miranda?" Ron had completely forgotten about Miranda, but remembered his nieces and nephews speaking very highly of her from school. But then he wondered if she was there at the house too.  
  
"She's not here when her father isn't home, she hates me, I hate her...it all works out fine," Hermione then walked toward the window and looked outside. "Oh Ron, I just sometimes think that if Draco was dead, then I'd be happy again!"  
  
"You are unhappy then?" Ron knew there was no way Hermione could be content living such a conniving, and selfish man. "He keeps me locked up in the house, and hardly lets me send owls to all my friends. He yells at me for buying my books—says I am wasting his gold! Oh he's horrible Ronald! I sometimes I imagine what it would be like if he were dead, but then I remember that I'd be left with nothing..." Hermione trailed off.  
  
Ron walked over to Hermione, who was still looking out the window, and put his hand on her shoulder, "Have you ever though of divorce? You could go back to Hogwarts and teach again. I'm sure they'd love to have you back."  
  
She was crying now, "He'd never let me go! He wouldn't want everyone knowing he had a bad marriage. He's all about saving face. Besides, he couldn't stand the burden of giving me gold after I left either. At least with me as his wife he can control me..."  
  
Ron felt helpless. All he could think to do was to turn Hermione around to face him and give her a warm hug. He held her close to him.  
  
A minute later, Hermione pulled away from Ron, her eyes now dry. "I've been wondering Ron, and I don't know if it's allowed, but...perhaps I could get an accident policy on Draco without him knowing it?"  
  
"Herm—"  
  
"—I could pay for it myself, I have a bit of gold left in Gringotts from when I worked at Hogwarts. I would just feel a lot better knowing I would be covered if Draco ever died..."  
  
Ron thought for a moment about her propostion. Thoughts ran through his head like, 'We'd need his signature, and then the owl post would deliver the policy declarations, and he would know about the policy...' But then Ron realized what Hermione was implying.  
  
"You mean to kill him, don't you Hermione? And run off with the money, eh? HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MENTAL?"  
  
"No Ron you don't understand, I don't want to kill him I just WISH he were dead, that's all. No crime in that..."  
  
"I can't do this for you Hermione. Do you know that every time a fraudulent claim comes into the office, somehow Parvati knows about it. Just last year a woman pulled the same plan after her husband agreed to take out an accident policy. Do you know where that woman is now, Hermione? Azkaban! That's where! And I'll be damned if I see you go there too!"  
  
"Ron, please! I don't want to kill him. I just want to know that I will have something if he were ever to be in an accident. He travels a lot and anything could happen!"  
  
Ron was furious that Hermione could think of such an insane plan, and he started walking towards the door. He stopped before he reached for the doorknob and turned around to see Hermione, now in tears once again, "I'll ask Colin to take over for the Broomstick Policy for your husband. The office will send another owl. You won't be seeing me here again."  
  
Ron slammed the door behind him and hurried to his car. He got in and put his head down on the steering wheel for a moment. Finally he sighed and started up the car. As he drove back to his apartment he reassured himself that he was doing the right thing. Miserable as Hermione was living with Malfoy, Ron was sure it would beat having to see her waste away in Azkaban.

Note to readers: Please let me know in your reviews if you would like me to keep this as a PG-13 in later chapters or if I should make some rated R chapters for more obvious sex and violence.... Thanks for reviews!!!


	5. The Unexpected Visit

Author's Note: I would like to thank all of my reviewers for their comments!

**WitchofNZ:** Don't worry this murder is about to go into full swing! Be patient because the set up is really what makes it fun!

**HPROXMYSOX:** Thanks for both of your reviews! I'm glad you liked the innuendo, I am trying to put in as much as I can. Please continue reviewing to let me know what you think!

**ScarlettAngel:** Its hard for me to write such a depressed Ron, but sometimes life isn't always what we bargain for!

**valentines-hater:** It may be cute now, but it won't be for long...

**AmyChris:** Thanks for commenting on what rating I should have...I will probably stick to PG-13 just cause of all the innuendo, if I suddenly make some full blown sex scene, it would ruin the anticpation that goes along with the innuendo (sorry HPROXMYSOX) there will be some good clean violence though =)

And for those of you who read but don't review: Shame on you!!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Unexpected Visit**  
  
The next couple of days Ron tried to push thoughts about Hermione out of his head. What was wrong with her? Obviously Malfoy's own rude behavior had brushed off onto her. He couldn't understand it—Hermione had always been so smart, but then again he also remembered that she sometimes lost her mind a bit when faced with difficult situations. Like in their first year at Hogwarts when he and Harry had been trapped by devil's snare and they needed a fire and she had asked for wood to start the fire and Ron had to remind her that she was a witch and didn't need wood. There was also the time during their third year when she took on extra subjects and went totally mental for being so burnt out using the time turner. He had to admit Hermione had a very nutty side to her, but even still, Ron could never believe she was capable of contemplating murder.  
  
It was late Wednesday evening and Ron had just stepped in from a night out with Parvati, Neville and a few others from the insurance office. They usually went down to the Leaky Cauldron, an old wizard's pub, to get drinks every once in a while after work. Tired, and slightly buzzed, Ron shook off his wizard robe, kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie. He scratched his head lazily and his bright red hair ruffled up. Just as Ron was about to crash on the sofa in his front room, he heard a knock at the door. He looked at the clock—nearly eleven—who could possibly be bothering him now, he thought.  
  
Ron opened the door to see Hermione standing there wearing a khaki overcoat looking as if her hair had been very windblown. He stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.  
  
"Hi Ron," she said reluctantly, "Erm...you forgot your hat the other night so I thought I'd return it to you—"  
  
"—How did you—"Ron stuttered.  
  
"—know where you live? That's easy Ronald—I still get owls from Harry every so often. He keeps me informed," she was now letting herself into the apartment, but she didn't have a hat to return to him. In fact, Ron's hat was already hanging on a stand near the door, but he didn't notice.  
  
Ron finally found some words and said, "Hermione, I'm not sure it's a good time for you to be hanging around my apartment. Besides I already told you that I wouldn't be coming around to see you anymore."  
  
Hermione, who had been unbuttoning her jacket stopped and looked down at the ground, "Oh, you're still upset about the other night," she looked back up at him, "I do apologize for my behavior. I shouldn't be doing anything to jeopardize your job. I really didn't mean all those things I said about wanting an accident policy on Draco..."  
  
"It's all right, let's just not talk about it again," Ron was still hesitant to accept her apologies, "Listen, it's kind of late, maybe you should come back another time—"  
  
"—Don't be ridiculous!" she interrupted him and went ahead and took off her coat and pressed it into his arms, "I'm already here, aren't I? I'll put on some water on for tea!"  
  
He couldn't believe the scene in front of him. All these years he pined for Hermione, but now that she was standing in his living room looking very eager to see him, he thought she was too mental to be around him anymore anyway. But then again, Ron realized how beautiful she looked wearing her black muggle trousers and a pale pink button up blouse. Her hair looked tussled as though she had been out in the wind that evening, but she still had that certain charm that Ron couldn't resist.  
  
"I suppose you could stay for a little while," he said as he absentmindedly hung her jacket on his coat rack, "but don't worry about the tea, I'm not thirsty."  
  
Hermione beamed, "This is a nice place you have here—very cozy!"  
  
"You mean small," he wasn't particularly proud of his small one bedroom flat filled only with the bare minimum in furniture and decorated with a few family photos waving on the wall and a tattered old Chudley Cannons Quidditch team poster.  
  
"Rubbish Ronald! It's not small—it's the perfect fit!"  
  
Ron glared at Hermione for a moment before changing the subject, "So, do you miss teaching at Hogwarts?"  
  
"No of course not!" Hermione snapped at him, "Would you want to be surrounded by a bunch of know-it-all teenagers who were always getting themselves into trouble? I had to hand out detentions left and right! I couldn't stand any of them!"  
  
"Yes of course, I remember how _you_ tried not to do _any_ of those things when we were at Hogwarts," Ron was sarcastically commenting on how Hermione did exactly the things she had just complained about during their days at Hogwarts.  
  
"It was different for us though," Hermione realized what she was saying, "Besides, I needed to leave the castle for a change of scenery."  
  
"I bet there were a lot of heartbroken students when you left."  
  
"Don't be silly Ron, I was a very strict teacher. They wouldn't have missed that!"  
  
"Well I would have been upset. I mean a beautiful teacher like you—always telling me I'm being a bad little wizard..." Ron never had a teacher like Hermione, but he suspected he would always have tried to get detention with her.  
  
She blushed slightly and then smiled at Ron, "Did you do that homework I assigned for you Ronald?"  
  
"I'm sorry—what?" he thought his joke about wanting Hermione to be his teacher was over, but she was obviously playing along.  
  
"Don't you remember, I wanted a rather sizeable scroll handed into me as soon as you had it ready..." she gave him a curious look.  
  
Ron suddenly felt his neck getting hot under his collar, so he loosened up his tie a bit more, "I don't have it ready for you yet...Professor Granger." He decided to play along and also call her by the name he always remembered her by.  
  
Hermione was now walking round Ron who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets. She was looking him up and down and brushing her hands against his shoulders. "You'll have to serve detention with me you know," she raised her eyebrows, "I'll help you get that scroll ready to turn in."  
  
"Am I in a lot of trouble, Professor?"  
  
"Definitely. In fact, your detention won't be over until I am completely satisfied with the outcome of your scroll." Hermione was now moving in closer to Ron.  
  
Ron gulped, "I, er, will give you my very best work. You won't be disappointed."  
  
Hermione now stood so close to him that he could feel her breath on his lips. Before he could think of what to do next, Hermione pressed her lips against his and they were now kissing passionately in Ron's living room. He felt intoxicated with warmth and comfort as he ran his fingers through Hermione's long brown hair. She kissed him harder and pulled her body closer to his. Ron ran his hands down to her shoulders and ended at her hips. He then led her to the sofa where he gently sat her down and joined her. With a flick of his wand, he dimmed the lights in the apartment. He then made love to Hermione for the first time since they split at the end of their seventh year at Hogwarts.  
  
An hour later they were fully dressed once again and snuggled up together on the couch. Ron was running his fingertips along Hermione's bare arm and staring up at the ceiling reveling in the moment. Never did he imagine that she would care about him again—a washed up wizard selling insurance. He never thought he'd have another chance. More than anything he wanted this moment with Hermione to last forever, but it was cut short when he heard her start crying.  
  
"What is it 'Mione?" he asked sincerely as her cries turned to sobs, "Are you worried about Malfoy finding out? Because I won't tell anyone about this! I swear it!"  
  
"I...don't...care...what...Malfoy...knows! I...can't...stand...him!" she was sobbing heavily in Ron's arms and he hadn't taken notice that she didn't call her husband Draco. "I want to be with you Ronald, I know now that we could be happy!"  
  
"My wish is the same 'Mione," he was brushing the tears off her face, "I've always wanted to be with you—even after all these years."  
  
Hermione looked at him with astonishment. Her tears were now calming down a bit, "What ever will we do so we can be together?"  
  
Ron stood up and exclaimed, "I'll tell you what we're gonna do! We need to get rid of Malfoy right?" Hermione nodded her head, and Ron continued, "And we're gonna need a load of Galleons to start a new life together, right? You'll need a proper home to live in since this one just won't do the job!"  
  
"What are you getting at Ron?"  
  
"Hermione—I am going to get that accident insurance policy on Malfoy for you. And then—we're going to off him so you can collect. We can be together, and we'll have a load of gold as an added bonus!"  
  
"I thought you said Parvati would figure it out—"  
  
"No, there are other ways of getting rid of Malfoy that Parvati won't be able to track. Now listen to me very carefully," Ron sat down next to Hermione again, "Anything that we do in connection with offing Malfoy must be done without using our wands! It's too easy to track using the spell reversal charm. And don't apparate to come and see me. They can look up those kinds of records too."  
  
"You mean we need to do this like Muggles?" she understood exactly where Ron was going with all this.  
  
"Precisely. Now it won't hurt if we use some potions so long as we don't leave any evidence of them behind. Other than that, if you need to reach me, my dad insists that I have a Muggle cellofone, so you can reach me on that...but only in dire emergencies are you to use it. Don't call from the fellytone at the estate (I know you have one to reach your parents), instead use the public one down at Thomas' Market—you know where that is?"  
  
"Yes, it's a Muggle Market in London—just down the street from the estate. I could walk there every morning at eleven. You could meet me there in person so we can talk about the plan."  
  
"You're brilliant Hermione!" Ron was wringing his hands together with excitement.  
  
"What is the first step, then?" Hermione's tears were completely gone now, and she seemed more than willing to carry out Ron's plan.  
  
"When Malfoy returns—"  
  
"Tomorrow—"  
  
"Yes, good. I'll come by again to renew his broomstick insurance. Now this is important—we need a witness there to see that I at least gave him the pitch about accident insurance, even if he decides not to sign for it. You follow me so far?"  
  
"Yes, I can do that."  
  
"Now remember, we are doing this like muggles so we must be extra careful with this plan. We must stick together through this no matter what! We are riding this train to the end...straight down the line, got it?"  
  
"Yes, of course," she was now picking up her coat and putting it on, "Come by around seven tomorrow evening—yes he will be there this time—and we can start everything then."  
  
Ron walked her to the door to let her out, "I've missed you Hermione," he said as he placed a soft kiss on her lips.  
  
She smiled at him and replied, "You did wonderful in detention tonight Ronald, I think I'll have to give you an Outstanding mark on your grade report..."  
  
Ron turned red in the face and grinned at Hermione as she left the apartment and hurried onto the lift across the hall where he watched the doors close in front of her glowing face. 


	6. Malfoy's Signature

Notes to my reviewers (only two since I posted 2 chapters in the same day):  
  
**Amy Lampion** and **valentines-hater**:  
You'll see that Malfoy is such a humongous bighead git that he won't even know what he's got coming!! Just so you know also--I DIDN'T INVENT THE PLOT--it was Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder who thought of it in 1944, I am just giving it a HP spin...and I am having a blast doing it!  
  
Before I begin the chapter, I would like to quote Ron from the PoA movie...and if you want to know what I thought about it, then read my profile!  
  
_"She's gone mental, Hermione has! I mean, not that she wasn't always. But, now it's out there in the open for everyone to see_."  
  
Let me just say that in this story, no one sees Hermione's "mentalness" except for a select few...

* * *

**Chapter 6: Malfoy's Signature  
**  
Ron didn't waste any time planning each move he and Hermione needed to take in order to succeed with their plan. This was serious business they were dealing with and Ron knew if anything fell out of place, they were sure to be caught. All day Thursday Ron thought about the events which were to take place in the upcoming weeks. The wheels are in motion, he thought to himself, there's no getting off this train. He just hoped that Hermione would feel the same way and not decide to back out of the whole deal.

* * *

"This better not take long, Weasley. I've got an important business meeting in the morning and I'm not staying up any longer than I have to in order to entertain you." Malfoy was sprawled lazily across the sofa in the drawing room of the Malfoy estate while Ron sat upright directly across from him in a side chair.  
  
Ron was already in the midst of the first step of his plan, except he wasn't particularly pleased with Hermione's choice of witness for the accident insurance pitch since she had chosen—who else?—Miranda, Malfoy's fifteen year old daughter. But he supposed Miranda was the only one Hermione could find to witness the event without raising any suspicion from Malfoy. The two women sat across from each other near the window at a small table playing a quiet game of wizard's chess. Ron glanced over to notice that Hermione didn't stand a chance of winning against Miranda—but he held his tongue in offering any pointers.  
  
"It's just some simple forms, Mr. Malfoy," Ron wanted to be formal in order to exude a certain amount of professionalism, "This shouldn't take more than a few minutes."  
  
"Excellent, let's get to it then," Malfoy clapped his hands together and sat upright on the sofa.  
  
As Ron rummaged through his portfolio looking for the papers, a crashing noise came from the direction of the girls.  
  
"Ha! Checkmate!" Miranda yelled shrilly at Hermione, who didn't even change her facial expression over the loss.  
  
Miranda then came stalking over to her father, "Daddy!" she said impatiently, "do you think it would be all right if I went out tonight?" Her tone was the classic Malfoy drawl that Ron had heard so often when he was a schoolmate with Malfoy.  
  
"Don't bother me now dear, can't you see that I'm talking business," Malfoy didn't even look up at his daughter, "Now go on Weasley, what do I need to do?"  
  
"Just to sign some forms, really, that's all. I'm just having a bit of trouble finding them," Ron was pretending to fumble through his portfolio, when really he was just attempting to buy some time. "We are very grateful at WICCA that you have decided to renew your broomstick policy...after all you can never be too careful..."  
  
"Yes, yes, so where do I sign?" Malfoy was getting impatient even though Ron hadn't been there for more than five minutes.  
  
"Daddy, are you going to listen to me or not?" Miranda was interrupting the conversation once again.  
  
Malfoy waved his arm at her, "Quiet down child, what did I tell you about interruptions?" He then looked Ron square in the face, "I apologize for my daughter's behavior—she thinks she knows everything as a Ravenclaw..."  
  
Oh yes, THAT must be why she was such a brat, Ron thought to himself but instead said, "That's quite all right Mr. Malfoy—now I've heard you are quite the business traveler these days, am I correct?" Ron continued still on shuffling through his portfolio to have enough time to get his pitch off to Malfoy.  
  
"Every countryside you can image, I've most likely been there, but you would know about traveling much to other countries would you, Weasley? Not on your salary!" Malfoy smirked at him, and somehow Ron knew Malfoy was up to much more on his out of town visits than broomstick business. He bit his tongue as to not let an unprofessional comment slip out.  
  
"Traveling is a dangerous thing these days, you know. Have you ever considered accident insurance? You know you wouldn't want to leave these two lovely ladies here without some sort of protection if you were to be injured for a time."  
  
"I don't worry much about those kind of things, Weasley. I am a careful man and I am not all that prone to injury. Besides, I have the best healers in all of Britain on my side if anything were to ever happen to me. I'll just stick with the broomstick insurance for now—"  
  
"—Daddy—"Miranda broke into the conversation once again, "All the girls are going down to the Broomstick Palace tonight, and I think I'm already going to be late!" The Broomstick Palace was an arena where the young witches and wizards would hang out and fly broomsticks together and socialize.  
  
"The Broomstick Palace—"Malfoy finally acknowledged his daughter, "is that down off of Diagon Alley?"  
  
"Yes, Daddy, please? Oh everyone will be there!" she was now kneeling by the couch begging Malfoy to let her go.  
  
Hermione finally spoke up and said, "Let the girl go, Draco dear, summer's almost done—she won't have another chance to go broomsticking for a while." Hermione was at least lenient with the girl, mostly to get her out of her hair though.  
  
"Fine, go on ahead dear," Malfoy really didn't care where she went either, but he felt the need to control her at times as well.  
  
"Ahem," Ron started up again, "I suppose if you are satisfied with only broomstick insurance, I'll just have you sign here." During Malfoy's conversation with his daughter, Ron had managed to pull out two forms for him to sign. "Now you let me know if you change your mind about the accident policy all right?"  
  
Just as Malfoy started to sign the form Ron was holding up for him on his portfolio, Miranda swooped down and kissed her father on the cheek and bounded happily out the front door.  
  
"All done then?" Malfoy started to get up.  
  
"Oh I almost forgot, the office is asking for two original signatures on renewals now, so could you just sign this duplicate form here as well?" Ron shot a quick look at Hermione as Malfoy scribbled his signature on the second form. She looked back at him grimly.  
  
Malfoy sighed, "Fine whatever, now I'm going to bed," he stood up and stretched. He then made his way to the sweeping staircase just outside of the drawing room. Without so much as glance to Hermione, he added, "Show Weasely out dear, and then when you're done—"he paused for a moment, "—DON'T bother me."  
  
"Right this way Mr. Weasley," Hermione said loud enough for Malfoy to head as he headed upstairs.  
  
Hermione opened the door for Ron and glanced back to be sure Malfoy had made his way all the way up the stair before she followed Ron out to the front door step.  
  
"When shall I start meeting you at the muggle market?" Hermione said to Ron in a hushed voice.  
  
"Next week—all the paperwork should be ready by then. I won't have them send the declarations by owl post, I will deliver them straight to you. I'll be telling the office that Malfoy doesn't want his family to know about the policy."  
  
Hermione nodded fervently, and before Ron could say goodbye she stepped back into the house and shut the door. Ron took a deep breath and marched down the stairs and out to the driveway. When he got into his car, he was startled to see someone sitting in the passenger seat of the car.  
  
"Miranda? What are you doing?"  
  
"Hi, Mr. Weasley! I'm sorry, but I've been waiting for you..."  
  
"What?" Ron was thoroughly confused.  
  
"I just figured maybe you could give me a ride to Diagon Alley—that is if that's the way you're going?" Miranda's whiny drawl now sounded like a clear and cheerful voice of a happy young woman.  
  
"To go to the Broomstick Palace?" Ron was now getting in the car and tossing his portfolio in the backseat of the car.  
  
"Er—yes..." Miranda was smiling at Ron with a sweet, yet mischievous grin.  
  
"You're not going to meet your girlfriends there are you?" Ron asked her in a teasing tone.  
  
"No...but you won't tell will you?" Miranda was giving Ron her best puppy dog face, "There's this boy I really like—Jack Chang, he going to be head boy at Hogwart's!"  
  
They were now driving in the darkened streets of London, squeezing the ministry car in between rows of traffic. "Head Boy, eh? Pretty impressive, I say. But then why wouldn't your father want you dating the Head Boy?"  
  
"He would never approve—he is so critical of everyone!"  
  
"What about Hermione?"  
  
"She knows—she was a professor long enough to be able to read teenagers, but she doesn't care—she would rather have me out of the house..." Miranda was now primping her hair in the flip down mirror on the car's visor.  
  
Ron decided he better not talk about Hermione too much, to make sure it didn't look like he was too interested in her, "So you'll be what...a fifth year when term starts?"  
  
Miranda's snobby behavior from inside the Malfoy estate had somehow completely subsided while she was in the car with Ron, "Yes that's right," she said eagerly, "and you'll never believe it but I've been chosen as a Ravenclaw prefect!"  
  
"Is that right?" Ron was now smiling as he reminisced over his days at Hogwarts. "You know, Miranda, both your father and I were prefects starting in our fifth year at Hogwarts too. Oh and Hermione also..." Ron couldn't believe the conversation had drifted back to her name.  
  
Miranda rolled her eyes a bit and pursed her lips together. Ron could tell she didn't like the mention of her stepmother's name. He decided he'd better just keep quiet as to not offend her. But then she perked up and started on a new topic.  
  
"I'll be taking my O.W.L.s this year—I hope I can earn 12. It hasn't been done in quite a few years now..."  
  
Knowing fully well that Hermione had been the last to receive 12 OWLs he decided not to mention it. "I earned 9 OWLs myself...I really didn't want to waste my time on Muggle Studies, or Ancient Runes, or Arithmancy (blegch!) and well, I kinda failed my Divination OWL..."  
  
Miranda let out a short giggle, "Well I think it is all fascinating and all my friends in Ravenclaw really help motivate me to get top scores. To tell you the truth, I was actually quite relieved to be sorted into Ravenclaw house, and not into Slytherin like my parents. Actually came as quite a shock to both of them, but it does happen sometimes that a child gets placed in a different house than their parents."  
  
Ron continued to drive and nodded his head intently as Miranda continued to rattle on about Hogwarts, "So Mr. Weasley, you are Sirius and Rose Potter's uncle, is that right?"  
  
"Yes, that's correct, my little sister Ginny married Harry right after her seventh year at Hogwarts."  
  
"I'm in the transfiguration club with Sirius and he seems very inclined to become an animagus...isn't that amazing?"  
  
Ron thought for a moment about his nephew whom he only saw during Christmas holidays and then replied, "Yes, I think it runs in the Potter blood to desire to become an animagus." Then Ron thought about how strange it was for Potters and Malfoys to be friendly with each other.  
  
"Here we are!" Miranda suddenly sang out, "Quick, pull over right here—there's Jack!" She then started rolling down the window and calling after her sweetheart whom they had just passed on the street by only a few steps. "Jack! Jack! Here I am! Come over this way for a moment, won't you dear?"  
  
Ron looked over his shoulder to see a thin boy no taller than six feet walking hurriedly towards the car wearing a long black cloak and a scowl on his face.  
  
"Jack, this is Mr. Weasley, he gave me a ride down here so I wouldn't have to walk—"  
  
"—Get out of the car Miranda—you shouldn't be taking rides from strange men," Jack was now opening Miranda's door.  
  
"Oh, don't be silly Jack. Mr. Weasely is an insurance man and he was just at the estate with my dad. He lives around here so I got a ride from him." Jack grunted.  
  
"He's also the Potters' uncle! You know them, they're from Gryffindor...So he's hardly a stranger." By now Jack had pulled Miranda out of the car and was holding her firmly by the arm to escort her away.  
  
Jack didn't say anything as he shot a nasty look at Ron, who didn't say anything—mostly because he didn't care much.  
  
"Thanks for the ride Mr. Weasley! It was nice talking to you..." Miranda cried out as Jack slammed the car door and started dragging her along with him down the street.  
  
Ron gave her a short wave as he watched the pair in his rearview mirror and they walked away down the street. 'Jealous little bugger, ain't he?' Ron muttered to himself thinking of how silly it was for Jack to be jealous of a thirty something old wizard giving a young girl a ride. He then proceeded to drive off thinking about how sweet and intelligent Miranda seemed, even if she was a Malfoy. Then Ron remembered the forms in the back seat of the car—the ones that were about to make young Miranda Malfoy an orphan. Ron tried to shake any thought of feeling sorry for Miranda because Malfoy didn't even seem to treat her properly anyhow. And yet, a guilty lump found it's way to Ron's throat and remained there as he sped off to his apartment.


	7. Double Indemnity Revealed

A/N: The moment you guys have been waiting for is coming up in the next chapter...so hang in there!!!

Thanks to my _lone_ reviewer on the last chapter **HPROXMYSOX**! Anyway about Jack--he is Cho's nephew. I am just assuming that Cho had an older brother that we never met. I felt Jack was appropriate as a Chang because he is moody and jealous, much like Cho and as most of us have seen--personality traits run through the family. Hope that clears things up for you! Enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Double Indemnity Revealed**  
  
Ron spotted Hermione the next week at Thomas' Market mulling over a pile of potatoes, carrying a shopping basket on one arm and holding a large black handbag with the other. She saw him from across the store and shifted her eyes back down to the vegetables. Ron managed to casually work his way towards her but didn't look at her as he spoke.  
  
"I've got the papers here," he said as Hermione started to turn towards him, "—Don't face me..."  
  
Hermione sighed as she put a few potatoes in her hand basket.  
  
"Open your handbag," Ron whispered in her direction, and she did as she was told. "Now you must put this in Malfoy's safe-keeping box at the estate—you have the key right?" Ron was now dropping a large envelope in her bag.  
  
"Yes—I took it his morning, just like we talked about," Hermione was now walking down another aisle while Ron followed inconspicuously behind her.  
  
Just then, an older muggle man strolled down the aisle, so Ron and Hermione quickly jetted in different directions to look at various items on the shelves. When he had passed, Hermione, who was now clutching a yellow cereal box, edged closer to Ron as she pretended to read off the ingredients in her mind. She then spoke to him out of the corner of her mouth, "Have you figured out how this is all going to play out?"  
  
Ron looked nervously around—there was no one on the aisle, "I think so, but I need you to tell me a few things about Malfoy's up coming business trips."  
  
She thought for a moment and then said, "That's right—he's in Romania the next few days, and then he'll be back for a short trip to Hogsmeade. There's a newly opened Quidditch shop there where he hopes to sell some prod—wait a minute—Ron?" Hermione spun around and grabbed Ron by the arm. He raised his eyebrows at her a she let go; she knew she shouldn't have been looking at him, "Do you mean we could do this as soon as next week? While he travels to Hogsmeade?"  
  
Ron turned away from Hermione and continued down the aisle and spoke to her even though they faced different directions, "Yes—I think so, and this could be our most perfect opportunity—how does Malfoy usually travel to Hogsmeade?"  
  
"By car, I suppose—they made the anti-apparation ordinance a while back in Hogsmeade since it is really becoming such a crowded destination.  
  
"Well you're going to have to convince him to take the Hogsmeade Train instead—"  
  
"—But Ron how will I—"  
  
"—Quiet..." Ron was looking nervous once again, "We need it to look like he died off the train—"  
  
"—Why can't we just—"  
  
"No, Hermione. Just listen will you?" Ron was now getting harsh with her. "There's a double indemnity clause in Malfoy's accident policy."  
  
"Double indemnity?" Hermione raised one eyebrow.  
  
"You don't know what that is?"  
  
"Honestly Ron! I'm a witch not an insurance man," Hermione replied quietly.  
  
"Yes, well, basically the clause states that under certain circumstances of death—the beneficiaries of the policy are entitled to a payout of double what the normal policy would cover. Death on a train is one of these circumstances." Ron was looking darkly at Hermione now.  
  
She put her fingers to her lips and then a glimmer of triumph rose in her eyes, "That means—"  
  
"—That's right—one million galleons—not five hundred thousand as the original policy states."  
  
"Consider it done," Hermione snapped, "I'll see you again tomorrow." She then proceeded to the checkout counter leaving Ron standing in the middle of the cereal aisle now clutching his own box and trying to look like a regular muggle shopper.

* * *

The next few mornings at the market Ron and Hermione bumped into each other to carefully plan Malfoy's murder. Her would be returning on Tuesday evening, and Hermione would claim that Miranda needed her to bring her down to Diagon Alley and pick up her school things early that Thursday morning. This left Malfoy with no other choice but to ride the train on Wednesday evening.  
  
They imagined every scenario and conjured their alibis down to what type of tea they would claim to have drunken that night. Part of the plan required the use of polyjuice potion—a difficult potion that would transform the drinker into the person from whom bits of hair or other body parts were added. The effects of the polyjuice potion always lasted about one hour. Hermione, who had experience with this potion, decided she could make it while Malfoy was gone. She sent her house elf, Mopsy to gather a whole slew of ingredients whom she told all the ingredients were mainly to stock up—you'll never know when you need them.  
  
Ron even went to the muggle library to read some books about how muggles managed to kill each other. Guns were too messy for Ron's liking, but he was intrigued my them nonetheless and therefore made sure to understand how they work in case the muggle officers somehow got involved. Knives were another interesting tool, but once again these were too messy for Ron. He needed something that looked ambiguous. Something that looked clean... And then he found it—the perfect way to cover up Malfoy's murder. It was brilliant.  
  
By Wednesday morning, all the preparations were in place. Ron sat quietly reading the Daily Prophet near the empty fireplace in his office. Suddenly a flame appeared and with a green burst of smoke he dropped his newspaper in surprise.  
  
Hermione's head was in the fire—she had made a floo call. This was one of the very things that he instructed her not to do.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ron hissed into the fire.  
  
"I'm sorry—this won't take long!"  
  
Ron nervously looked to make sure Colin, the wizard he shared a small office with, was no where around.  
  
"There's a problem, Ron. Last night when Malfoy came home—he had a broken leg! Seems he tried to ride a dragon and he fell off! Stupid git. The trips off—but I don't want to wait to do it. I've waited too long! It has to be tonight!"  
  
"—Remember the plan, we must stick to it. It can wait to another d—"  
  
"Uh oh! I hear him coming up the stair—I've got to go!" And with a poof of smoke Hermione's head was now gone from the slowly diminishing flames.  
  
Ron's eyes were wide as he jetted to the fireplace to try and shoo any signs of smoke, "If you're so brilliant, why'd you forget you're not supposed to use the floo network?" Ron grumbled under is breath.  
  
"Did you say something Ron?" Parvati had just peeked her head into Ron's office.  
  
Ron spun around and cleared his throat, "Er...no..."  
  
"Talking to yourself again, I see? Mind if I come in and interrupt you?"  
  
"You're the boss." Ron said sarcastically.  
  
"AND your friend..." Parvati added.  
  
"Yes, you don't have to get all mushy on me though!" Ron was pretending to blush.  
  
Parvati laughed.  
  
"So you wanted to see me about something?" Ron honestly wasn't in the mood for a chat with his boss.  
  
"I just got this claim in on a stolen wand—a real expensive one—50 galleons, I reckon. They claim it was snatched during a National Quidditch game in Wales."  
  
"Sounds pretty strange—Wales has always been a safe place," Ron was trying to act normal despite his recent call from Hermione.  
  
"You know how I get. I've got this terrible knot in my stomach that is telling me there's something seriously wrong with this claim."  
  
"Don't let all these knots get to you, Parvati. I mean subtract the deductable—what, 15 galleons?—that's only 35 galleons to pay out."  
  
Parvati was now pacing, "They've only had the policy for two months! Eight sickles a month was all it cost them and now suddenly we've got to give these frauds 35 galleons! I just don't feel right! Oh this knot just keeps getting tighter!" She was now clutching her stomach and slowly sitting down to take a breather.  
  
Ron sighed and went over to sit in the chair next to her, "Honestly, you shouldn't worry so much! Just pay out the claim—it's not that big of a loss. Who knows, maybe it was stolen?"  
  
"No. I've got to investigate this one! What if every old bloke decided to claim their wand was stolen just to get a few extra galleons in his pocket..."  
  
Just then a ringing noise came from Ron's pocket.  
  
"What in Merlin's name is THAT?" Parvati was looking curiously around the room.  
  
"Oh, just my muggle fellytone...dad likes me to have one...just a moment, Parvati," Ron fumbled through his pocket to pull out a small black cellphone. He noticed the name on the caller ID was from Thomas' Market.  
  
"'Ello?"  
  
"I'm sorry about the floo call earlier," Hermione was on the other end.  
  
"Oh, hello Mrs. Keyes!" Ron pretended someone else was on the line since Parvati was in the room staring at him.  
  
"Ron? I can come back if this is important?" Parvati interjected.  
  
"Er...yes...it's Mrs. Keyes on the line. She's a squib seamstress. She's making new dress robes for me to wear at my parents' 50th wedding anniversary party.  
  
"Well, that's not urgent, I'll just wait," Parvati settled back into her seat—much to Ron's dismay.  
  
"So, Mrs. Keyes," Ron got back to his call, "how are those dress robes coming along?"  
  
"Turns out Malfoy is set on his trip to Hogsmeade, and he's decided to get on that train—broken leg or not!" Hermione was talking very quickly in a hushed voice.  
  
"Well that sounds like they will be lovely!" Ron said in a cheerful voice, "About when will they be done?"  
  
"Tonight, I'm driving him to Kings Cross Station to catch the 10:15 train. I'll leave the garage open so you can get to the hiding spot.  
  
"Mrs. Keyes, I must say you are a wonderful seamstress for doing this for me." Ron said as he looked at Parvati who was wearing a bemused look on her face as she watched Ron talk to the small box against his ear.  
  
Hermione continued, "Now when everything is perfect, I'll honk the horn three times—that's the signal—got it?"  
  
"This is just delightful! What color will the dress robes be again?"  
  
"Malfoy will be wearing a navy blue muggle suit—and don't forget his LEFT leg is all bandaged up.  
  
"Ah, navy blue...excellent choice!" Ron seemed to be overacting just a bit.  
  
"I love you, Ronald. Everything is going to be perfect!" Hermione hadn't said anything like this to Ron since Hogwarts.  
  
He tried to keep from blushing, "You're too sweet, Mrs. Keyes. See you soon, goodbye." Ron hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket.  
  
Parvati stood up again, smiling, "That Mrs. Keyes should delightful. You must give me her number next time I need new dress robes!"  
  
"Er, yes. Of course," Ron said knowing full well that Mrs. Keyes was just a person he'd made up.  
  
"So about this wand claim—I'm going to get to the bottom of it because no is going to scam Parvati Patil! We'd be washed up if I let stuff like this slide all the time!"  
  
"You're a smart witch. I'll bet you have this case cracked by lunchtime."  
  
"Thanks, Ron—for listening. Sometime I just don't know what to do when I get these knots inside of me."  
  
"I'm always here to listen," Ron said just as he started to feel knots tying up in his own stomach as he watched Parvati bound happily out of the office. No sooner had she disappeared when Colin came strolling in. "Oh Colin—so good to see you!"  
  
Colin screwed up his face in confusion, "I'm not doing any of your work today, Ron!"  
  
"No—"Ron smiled, "I just wanted to see if you wanted to get dinner tonight—eight o'clock—guys' night. Neville can come too!"  
  
"All right, that sounds good."  
  
"Yes, it sounds killer," Ron was setting up his alibi already for the night ahead of him. Ron knew that before it was over, Malfoy would be dead. 


	8. Time for Murder

The long awaited update has come! Now that school is out for summer, I do believe I will have this story completed soon! Thanks to Nymph and PV for bugging me constantly to finish:D Don't forget to submit reviews!

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**Chapter 8: Time for Murder**

"Another butterbeer for you, Neville?" Ron asked loudly across the table to his red-faced co-worker who was looking like he'd had plenty to drink already, "No? Colin?"

Colin nodded to Ron and they waved down the waitress walking by their table. It was now 9 o'clock on Wednesday evening and Ron thought it a perfect plan to spend the evening out at a noisy restaurant with his mates from work, tell them he was extremely tired after dinner, and claim to head home for a restful night's sleep. The three grown wizards were having a smashing good time drinking and gawking at the women in the pub.

"Well boys, I'm beat!" Ron said in a voice loud enough to be heard over the rest of the commotion in the pub..

"Yeah, me too," chimed in Neville and Colin at the same time.

Ron threw down a handful of sickles onto the table and put his hot on, "See you blokes in the morning!"

As he scurried out of the restaurant, Ron looked down at his watch--it was nearly 9:15--he needed to hurry, so he sped off to his apartment building where he would park the ministry car.

"'ello there, Ron!" Ernie Macmillian, the parking garage attendant at the apartment building said as Ron hopped out of his car and gave him a small tip.

"Good evening, Ernie. Could you see about getting this car washed up tonight, I'll have to be returning it to the ministry soon." Ron was trying to act as casual as possible, and fortunately, Ernie didn't notice a thing.

"Sure thing, Ron! Did ya need it done soon? I've got a few others I'll be washing up before too long."

"Oh, its no rush really, I don't even plan on going anywhere at all tonight, so it could wait until morning. I'm just going to have a quiet evening to myself, and try to get to bed a bit early. I am quite tired this evening!" Ron wanted to make sure it was clear to Ernie that he was home at this time and that someone had seen him go into the building.

"Good night then, Ron. I'll have this Ministry Car all shined up for you by morning."

Ron tipped his hat to Ernie and started his way up the stairwell to his flat. When he arrived in his dimly lit apartment, Ron got to work quickly to move his plan into full action. First he sat down at the fireplace and made a floo call to his mother, Molly. He knew it would be traceable on the floo network records and if Molly were ever questioned during this whole incident, then she would place Ron right there in his flat. He only spoke to her for a few minutes to tell her he'd be coming to visit over the weekend, depending on his work load and then he pulled his head out of the fireplace to make some extra precautions. He took a sheet of parchment which he had charmed days earlier to change color if it was touched by floo fire. He placed it in the fireplace so he would know if he'd missed any calls whilst he was out.

Then Ron wound some sound string around the doorbell chime hanging next to his front door. He'd picked it up from his brothers' joke shop and it would grow longer if loud sounds were made by whatever was touching it. He'd know if someone stopped by to see him if he was out by checking the length of the string.

With the apartment secure, Ron hurried to change into the blue suit Hermione had instructed him to wear. He grabbed a towel from the cupboard and stuffed it in the side of his jacket underneath his arm...he would need it later to fake a broken leg. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror before putting his hat on.

"This polyjuice potion had better work, Hermione because we can't let anything go wrong..." he said quietly to himself in the mirror and then pressed his hat onto his head.

Instead of going out his front door and down the main stairwell, he decided it would be best to climb out of the window and onto the fire escape where he could slip down into the unlit back alley and not be seen. It was a windless night and there was a weight in the air that seemed to press itself upon Ron as he quietly climbed down into the alley. He looked both ways: not a soul in sight. He gathered his nerves and started making the walk towards the Malfoy mansion. He'd have to go quietly the entire way there on foot because he didn't want to risk being seen by anyone who may recognize him. It was now nearly quarter until 10 and he'd have to hurry quick to make it on time. He thought for a moment how quickly he could apparate to the Malfoy estate, but then he remembered that using magic was strictly against the rules during this entire operation. Instead, Ron just picked up the pace and ran quietly in the dark towards his destination.

Amazed that no one had spotted him along the way, Ron was pleased to see that the garage door was slightly open when he arrived and thought to himself, "She's going along with the plan just as we planned. Straight down the line. Perfect."

He slipped quietly into the garage and got in the back seat of the Malfoy's car. He settled onto the floor and threw a dark blanket over himself that Hermione had left in the back seat of the car. As he lowered his head deeper into the back seat he felt it knock into an item with a clink sound. He turned his head and picked up a glass bottle with a red liquid inside. It was the polyjuice potion and Hermione had left it just where they could use it at the right time. Ron quickly placed it back down on the floor of the car when he heard voices coming outside.

"Hurry up now, Draco dear, we don't want you to be late for your train." Hermione sounded calm and confident.

Draco droned something about his leg being stiff, but Ron didn't try to strain himself to listen. He needed to be very still until the moment was right. Ron shifted his eyes up towards the window where Hermione was now opening the back door and putting the suitcase in the backseat and glancing down at him. Ron smiled nervously, but Hermione's expression on her face didn't change. She slammed the car door and opened the passenger side before running back to Malfoy and helping him limp his way over to the car.

"Remember what the healer said darling you'll need to take it easy on this leg of yours." Hermione was being falsely sweet to Malfoy. In a matter of minutes both she and Ron knew that Malfoy would complain no more.

As Hermione drove silently to the train station Malfoy went on about how boring it was going to be for him on the train and that the doctors should have let him travel by some other means. Hermione wasn't really listening to him.

"Makes you feel pretty good to get away from me, doesn't it Draco?" Hermione said to him in a scathing tone as she turned the wheel to make a hard right onto a dark street.

"Hey this is not the right street, you mudblood, the train station is the other way!" Draco obviously wasn't listening to her either, but Hermione kept her eyes fixed on the road as she drove.

"Hermione, you stupid mudblood witch, you are going the wrong way. You'll make me miss my train!" Hermione was now slowing the car down on the pitch black street they were now driving along. She placed her hand on the horn and honked it three times. That was Ron's signal. It was time for murder.


	9. The Hogsmeade Train

And you thought I wouldn't update...;)**

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**Chapter 9: The Hogsmeade Train**

"Why are you honking the horn like that Herm--" Malfoy's droll voice was silenced by a pair of hands grasping his neck from behind. Ron clenched his hands tightly and with a quick twist that he'd been studying, there was a loud snap and Malfoy was dead.

Hermione turned the car back around without changing any of the expression on her face. Ron, however, was trembling ever so slightly as he heaved to pull Malfoy's limp body over into the back seat of the car. Once the body was secure behind the back seat and covered with the blanket, Ron pulled a lock of Malfoy's hair out of his head and jumped over to take a seat next to Hermione.

"You positive the Polyjuice Potion is ready?" Ron said nervously as he began to unscrew the bottle.

"Of course," Hermione replied without feeling, "But hurry it up, we'll be to the station in just a minute."

Ron watched the potion bubble and fizz as he dropped Malfoy's hair into the bottle. He glanced over at Hermione hoping to get a reassuring look from her, but her eyes were fixed on the road and her hands held steady on the steering wheel.

"Well, bottom's up," he muttered to himself as he tipped the potion bottle to his lips. A horrid lurching sensation filled Ron's stomach and he downed the last drop of the potion. "Arrrrgggh!" he groaned as he doubled over in the front seat while his red hair turned blonde, his face became long and pointed, and and his freckles disappeared. Within moments he was the perfect image of Malfoy. Hermione didn't glance over to see if he was okay.

Ron didn't want to look over at her now either. He was now hurrying to pull the towel out of his jacket so that he could wrap it around his leg to fake a cast. He was thinking of how the polyjuice potion had once turned him into an old friend of Malfoy's but today the sensation felt different. He thought that he'd be able to see into Malfoy's mind, but for some odd reason Ron only had cold and empty thoughts in his head. He shook the feeling off as they pulled into the station.

"Stay right there," Hermione said as she opened her door, "I'll have to help you out so that it looks like you are really hurt."

Ron adjusted the towel around his leg underneath his pants to make sure it looked believable as a cast as he waited for Hermione to get the luggage out of the trunk and the crutches out of the back seat.

"Come on now, Draco dear, let me help you out of the car," Hermione was now acting sappily sweet to Ron in case anyone that knew the couple happened to pass by.

As they trudged through Kings Cross Station to find their way to the secret entrance to platform 9 3/4, various attendants tried to help "Mr. Malfoy" along, but Hermione kept snapping at them to back off because she claimed he didn't want any help from anyone but her.

They crossed the barrier and entered platform 9 3/4 and the train for Hogsmeade was waiting there with smoke billowing out of the engine car. Hermione waved some attendants over to take the luggage onto the train and she put her arm around Ron, who was looking just like Malfoy and walked him up to the train car entrance.

"Do be careful on that hurt leg of yours darling. I'll miss you while I am gone!" Hermione planted a hasty kiss on Ron's--well not exactly Ron's--lips and helped him limp up onto the train.

Ron was feeling like the plan was working perfectly and he was suddenly overjoyed with the emotion that overcame him after Hermione's kiss. "I love you, Hermione," he said as the train attendant began to close the door.

"I know," Hermione said back with a dark look on her face.

Ron's heart sunk as the door shut and the train began pulling away from the station. He tried to glance out the window to see if she was waiting to watch him leave, but Hermione had already walked off the platform and was making her way back to the car with Malfoy's body inside.

The train to Hogsmeade was crowded and Ron was having a hard time faking his broken leg as he walked with his crutches back to the observation deck in the back of the train. His assigned seat was near the front in car 2, seat 7A but Ron had no intention of ever sitting there. As he passed by the gossiping young adults and stoic business wizards, Ron caught a glimpse of his new persona in the window.

"Funny, he thought...Malfoy isn't this tall is he?" Ron thought to himself and then shook off the thought so he could concentrate on making his way to the back of the train.

"Pardon me," Ron said as he squeezed past a young lady carrying a baby in her arms. As he turned to make room for her to pass, he saw his reflection once again in the window. Tufts of red hair were now growing out from under his hat.

"Bloody hell!" Ron thought as his eyes grew wide at the site of his transformation. The polyjuice potion was wearing off fast because Ron and Hermione had failed to read the fine print in their potion book which said that the potion won't work to it's proper strength if the transformation is to be that of a dead person. Ron wasn't thinking about why the potion didn't work, he was just trying to hurry up and get off that train before anyone recognized him.

When he reached the observation deck he thought he was in the clear, but he was startled by the gruff voice of an Irish man sitting out there already smoking a cigarette.

"Hello there sir! My looks like you had a bit of an accident there?" the stranger was friendly, but too friendly for Ron's liking. "Would you like a cigarette?"

Ron turned his face away from the stranger and started patting down his pockets as if he were looking for something.

"So where you heading, sir? You look real important with that business suit on!"

"Oh, just to Hogsmeade," Ron was trying to do his best Malfoy impersonation voice, but was failing miserably at it.

"That's great, the first wizard's only settlement! What a great place! I'm from Northern Ireland myself, so I'll be changing trains when we get to Hogsmeade, perhaps we can have a butterbeer when we arrive! My names Godric Grimsby, and you?"

"Malfoy," Ron stuttered out, "Draco Malfoy..." He was still searching for something in his pockets.

"Well Draco, it is certainly nice to meet you. Care for a cigarette?"

"Actually," Ron realized there was a way out of this, "I prefer cigars, but it seems I left them back at my seat...car 2, seat 7A, I'd better go back for it..."

"Oh no, not with that broken leg of yours!" Godric was cheerful and willing to help, "I'll go get them for you, car 2, seat 7A?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ron said as he let out a deep breath and kept his body turned away from Godric as he left the observation car.

Ron heard the door shut and he turned his head to make sure it was clear. Without a moment of thought, Ron tossed the crutches over the railing at the end of the observation car and jumped off the back of the train.

Moments later, Godric Grimsby was back on the observation deck exclaiming that a nice London man had offered him a couple of cigars but the deck was empty and Mr. Malfoy was no where to be seen.


	10. Dead Man Walking

Chapter 10: Dead Man Walking 

Ron landed on the ground and hit his elbow on one of the rails of the train track. He rolled a couple of times until he was stopped by some bushes near the tracks.

He coughed because of the dust that has stirred up as a result of his fall, but he quickly picked himself up and dashed over to find the crutches he had thrown over board. They were lying haphazardly across the train tracks and all Ron needed now was a body. Ron looked around in the dark field where he stood and tried to makeout any signs of Hermione's car. He didn't hear or see anything when suddenly he saw the unmistakeable headlights flashing three times just a little way back from where he had jumped off. Ron hobbled as best he could to the car where Hermione was already trying to tug Malfoy's body out of the back seat.

"Careful there Hermione, we don't want him looking too ruffled," Ron said as he walked up dusting off his jacket.

Hermione glanced at him and then turned back to pulling Malfoy out when she did a doubletake and dropped Malfoy's body onto the ground with a thud, "Why Ronald! You aren't looking like him any more at all! That potion was supposed to be working at least for another twenty minutes!" Hermione was dumbfounded that her potion had been unsuccessful.

"Well its not really a convenient time for us to be worrying about potions now is it?" Ron was picking up Malfoy's legs and was motioning for Hermione to pick up his arms again.

"You didn't let anyone see you did you?" Hermione hissed at him as she grabbed Malfoy's limp arm and lifted him up with all her strength.

"Oh just some pain in the arse from Ireland is all, he'd never know the difference between a Malfoy and a Weasley..." they were now struggling to carry the heavy body to the tracks closer to where the crutches had fallen.

"That's perfect...Just what we need! A witness! How did you manage to fool him? How did you slip away if you were talking to strangers on the train!" her voice was rising now, but her anger helped her to lift the body higher off the ground and walk faster to their destination.

Ron groaned as he gripped Malfoy's legs tighter and wished he could just use his wand to move him into place. "Would you not get cross with me right now, Hermione. It's not my fault that the potion didn't work is it?"

Hermione became livid and almost thrust Malfoy's body to the ground as she shouted back to Ron. "Are you trying to tell me that I screwed up the potion! How do I know you even put enough of his hair in there for it to work properly! How can you even doubt my abilities after all I've done for you..."

Ron's mouth gaped open at this remark. He clenched his teeth together and spoke to her with a firm voice, "All you've done for ME? What exactly have you done for me, love? Turn me into an insurance fraud...cost me my job this will. Make me a liar to my best friends and family...and for what? So I could become a murderer? You have a lot of nerve telling me you done something good for..."

He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a train whistle blow and the screeching of wheels off in the distance. Hermione froze in her anger and the both of them stopped arguing with each other and hurried to toss Malfoy onto the tracks at his apparent death scene. They didn't say anything to one another as they ran back to the car.

Hermione turned the key to start up the engine. Click. Nothing. She tried it again, and once more not a sound came from the engine. She looked over at Ron with a horrified face, it was the first time she had showed any fear all evening.

"What are we going to do?" Ron was suddenly feeling numb from the night's events.

Hermione didn't say anything, but she continued turning the key and pumping the gas pedal trying to get any kind of response from the car. Her fear turned to frustration as she pounded on the steering wheel in hopes that a good beating would make it start. Ron leaned over and tried turning the key himself. He could feel Hermione's soft breathing on the back of his head as he tried the key. Nothing. She pushed him back aside and reached into her handbag to pull out her wand.

"Hermione! No, we can't use any magic tonight--they could trace it back here."

"I don't care Ronald, we need to get ourselves out of here before anyone sees us. They find the body and then us sitting right here next to it then we'll never get the money." She pointed her wand and was ready to tap it on the wheel. Ron held his breath.

He couldn't let her do it though. Just as her wand was about to make contact with the wheel he stopped her by taking hold of her wrist. "We can't do this Hermione...lets give it just one more shot."

He again reached across Hermione and turned the key. There was a sputter. They looked at each other with hopeful excitement. Hermione pressed the gas a couple of times and then let Ron turn the key once more. The car started. Both Hermione and Ron let out deep sighs of relief, and then, for the first time all night, Hermione looked Ron straight in the eye and said, "I love you," and gave him a deep passionate kiss.

Ron was taken a back by this gesture and just sat back silently in his seat as Hermione reversed the car and drove them back onto the main streets. Neither one of them spoke as they drove along the dark, deserted roads back to the Malfoy mansion. Normally, Ron would have felt elated over a kiss from Hermione, but tonight Ron felt cold and empty and darkness seemed to press on him from all directions.

As they pulled into the driveway, Ron looked around to make sure no one was around to see him get out of the car. Hermione whispered to him that it would be best that they keep some distance for a little while to see how things go with Malfoy's death. Ron agreed that they would need to wait until the settlement was paid before they could be together again.

The Malfoy estate was dark and Ron knew it would remain that way tonight as he slipped quietly from the car and went walking back down the street to make his way back to his flat. Hermione didn't say goodbye to him as he walked away, but simply locked up the garage and went to the door as if nothing unusual had occurred at all that evening.

The street lights on this dark summer night in London gave off very little illumination and Ron felt a cold chill run up his spine as he hid in the shadows on his way home. He'd just murdered a man and there was no taking it back, but Ron knew this train ride of his was far from over. He only hoped that his alibi checked out and that plans had indeed gone off with out any trouble. He couldn't shake that eerie feeling inside, however, that things were not okay at all.

At his flat, Ron climbed back up the fire escape stairwell and into his unit through the window. He checked the floo: no calls, he check the doorbell: no visitors. Everything was in perfect order as he had left it earlier. Relieved only somewhat, Ron changed out of the navy blue suit and into more comfortable attire. He wanted to go to sleep, but now he wasn't tired. The alibi could only be strengthened now if he were seen where he was supposed to be, so Ron decided it was time to go back down to the garage and take a little drive.

"Why hello again Ron! Thought you was going to bed for the night!" the garage attendant exclaimed as he polished up the Ministry car Ron had asked him to wash.

"Couldn't really sleep tonight, Ernie," Ron messed with his thick red hair as he said this and didn't make eye contact with the garage attendant, "I think I'll be going out to coffee now, what time is it though?"

Ernie glanced at his watch, "Why...its nearly midnight! Are you sure you want to be out getting coffee this time of night?"

Ron didn't say anything back, but simply got in the car and smiled weakly before taking off out of the garage and back into the darkness. His alibi had him at home most of the evening after dinner with his friends and then him leaving at nearly midnight for some coffee. Draco's train was nearly 2 hours ago and no one he knew had seen him at all.

As Ron drove down the quiet steets, he knew that the night would be a long one and he wasn't looking forward to what the papers would say about Malfoy's death in the morning. He feared that perhaps someone had spotted his red hair beneath the cap, or his tall thin body limping around the train car looking nothing like Malfoy. But more than anything, Ron feared Parvati's wrath we she was to hear about this and the fact that Malfoy had a policy on his life...


End file.
